04-07-2025
Israeli forces, settlers forcibly displace 20 families near Jericho
Around 20 Palestinian families were forcibly displaced on Wednesday night from the Arab al-Mleihat community, northwest of Jericho in the eastern occupied West Bank, after Israeli settlers established a new outpost nearby and intensified harassment, the Wafa news agency reported.
The families, part of a larger Bedouin community of about 500 people, began dismantling their tents and leaving the area amid what local advocates described as mounting pressure from both settlers and Israeli forces.
Hassan Mleihat, general supervisor of the Al-Baidar Organisation for the Defence of Bedouin Rights, said settlers had positioned themselves around the community's perimeter and were escalating efforts to force residents out.
In a statement on Thursday, Al-Baidar warned that the displacement could erase the Arab al-Mleihat community's cultural and historical presence.
According to Wafa, settlers on Wednesday brought livestock, erected tents and set up animal pens just 150 metres from Palestinian homes in the newly established outpost.
